CareOregon/Housecall Providers alliance takes another step forward

The constantly evolving partnership between Housecall Providers and CareOregon is about to take another major step forward.

CareOregon, a Portland provider of health care insurance for those eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, has been a close partner of Housecall Providers since its founding to find ways to deliver quality, affordable medical care to Portland’s homebound population.

Partnership will support the hiring of a home-based nurse practitioner

Now the two nonprofits have created a new partnership in which CareOregon will support the hiring of a nurse practitioner by Housecall Providers to provide in-home care throughout the Portland metro area.

CareOregon Medical Director Dr. Will Kennedy said the partnership is another step in the strategic alignment of the two organizations. It was the outcome of ongoing discussions between leaders of the two nonprofits directed at finding innovative ways to care for the fragile population Housecall Providers serves.

CareOregon looking for ways to further support homebound patients

“We think of this as a prototype, a model for something larger,” he said. “We are supporting Housecall Providers in this as part of figuring out what the future partnership between us should look like. We keep asking ourselves, ‘How can we further support what they are doing so that our patients, and, ultimately, all such patients can benefit from it?’”

Kennedy said CareOregon views the partnership as a learning experience, one that will develop over time.

“It’s not about how many patients are seen, but what we learn from the patients who are served,” he said. “We’ll be evaluating and making adjustments as we go along.”

“CareOregon’s commitment to their homebound, chronically ill patients is further recognized in our latest collaboration,” said Housecall Providers Medical Director Dr. Pamela Miner. “We are extremely grateful to have a community partner that shares our vision of how to best care for this underserved population.”

The practitioner has not yet been hired. The program is expected to start this summer.